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Foursquare, Food Trucks, and Filling up Suitcases

Barnsdall Art Park

Tyler and I decided this past month that we needed to get in as much “LA” as possible. We figure the LA chapter of our lives is closing and we are quite undecided on if it will ever really be reopened again so we figured it was the perfect time to take in all LA had to offer. This meant getting involved with a an awesome church in Hollywood, Basileia, stalking the local LA food trucks on Twitter, and a new obsession with Foursquare that led us to going to the same indie coffee shop 3 times in one week just to unlock our “Local” badge.

We kicked it all off with an outdoor wine tasting and gourmet food truck event at the Barnsdall Art Park. The picturesque Hollywood view from up there was fantastic and the wine wasn’t so bad either. I am pretty sure our obsessive food truck stalking began here as we discovered how purely awesome they are.

For the 4th of July we decided that hiking Echo Mountain to watch the fireworks throughout the whole LA basin sounded like the perfect way to spend the night.So despite the triple digit temps that weekend, we along with some friends packed a sweet group picnic and made the journey.

As our food truck obsession grew, we found ourselves going to strange intersections in Downtown in search of our favorites or even going to the hip and trendy Santa Monica bar just to get our beloved sandwich. Our favorites quickly became the Munchie Machine, The Grilled Cheese Truck, and Lake Street Creamery.

The ice cream truck was naturally my favorite. But when Tyler found out that the ice cream truck had a special called “The Homer” and when they tweeted back to him with a “hells ya!” that it was available, he was all over that pink-frosted, sprinkle-topped, donut ice cream magic. Tyler’s personal favorite is the grilled cheese truck. The idea of anything grilled and melted between bread and cheese pretty much makes him happy. We have stalked it the most and it is hard to argue with the delicious sounding specials they make all the time. Our first encounter with this truck we got a Pepperbelly Melt that was filled with chili and fritos baked on jalapeno bread.

Our more nerdy obsession with Foursquare developed as I came to learn of its pure awesomeness. So we have spent the better part of this last month acquiring Foursquare points, which really don’t mean to much except that you are awesome and nerdy, and seeking after Foursquare badges for our explorative travels. All I can say is that we love being nerdy together and we enjoy the BFF bonuses we get for checking in together so often.

But alas, this has all really been a tribute to the fact that we are leaving in just 5 days. Pictures like this one have been flooding our friend’s Facebook feeds as we try and get rid of extra stuff we have lying around the apartment that we can’t store and can’t take. I am sure our friends think we are a little strange, but we just want our perfectly good stuff to find some good homes.

Our apartment right now is a bit of a battle ground. The battle over what stays and what goes, what to pack and what to store and what to just trash. There are piles and half-filled suitcases and storage bins everywhere. It’s difficult, but in some ways it is oddly rejuvenating to simplify and start over.

We both feel as though our biggest hope is that we will feel connected quickly. That we will find a home and find a community in Grenada. It took us a while to get settled in Pasadena and it is always a challenge to build a new life. We know that finding friends, finding community to dig into, finding a church to grow in, and finding a local hang-out or two where we can work and relax are much needed things for us. School and work cannot be our only lives on that island. Our hearts really pray that we will establish a home, that we will find meaningful relationships and community and that our relationship will stay strong in the process. That we can love and support each other and that we will be strong against the stress of it all.

I don’t think there could be anything more exciting for the both of us to undertake together. We are truly starting our lives, our family together as we step out in faith on this adventure. We ask for your prayer and your support and hope that you will be with us through the journey. We look forward to sharing all the many fun and ridiculous stories that are sure to come out of this.